Former Penn State head coach James Franklin appeared on ESPN’s “College GameDay” on Sunday to make his first public comments about his firing, but not everyone was totally impressed.
Franklin discussed the shock of his firing and his ambition to coach again, stating that he is determined to win a national championship. Nick Saban also had the opportunity to tell Franklin that, in his mind, Franklin’s treatment by Penn State was “unfair as hell.”
Nick Saban to James Franklin on 'College GameDay': "It's unfair as hell… For [Penn State] not to show enough appreciation for that, and gratitude for all the hard work you did, I'm saying, it's unfair." 🏈🎙️ #CFB pic.twitter.com/xXAayHhqwi
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) October 18, 2025
Many viewers, however, were left unimpressed by the interview. The consensus was that it came off as a public relations stunt for Franklin and an opportunity for him to look good without facing any difficult questions about his Penn State tenure.
Of course James Franklin is doing a live interview on GameDay just a few days after being fired. Messaging. Image protection. It’s what he does best.
— Todd McShay (@McShay13) October 18, 2025
Well I can certainly understand why James Franklin didn’t respond to interview requests this week and instead popped up in the safest space in media
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) October 18, 2025
I was not a fan of the James Franklin PR show. Just kinda tossed him softball questions and made it seem like Penn State made an obvious bad decision. There’s a lot of nuance here they (intentionally) whiffed on. https://t.co/leruwdmyWv
— CFBudge (@CF_Budge) October 18, 2025
James Franklin doing his PR move, damage control, feel for me I’m such a good guy schtick and y’all are falling for it oh brother https://t.co/wcI1emzwLd
— Liam Blutman (@Blutman27) October 18, 2025
Obviously, Franklin is not going to be put on the hot seat in this environment, but it was not a very challenging interview for him. There is a real discussion to be had about how his Penn State tenure went south as quickly as it did, and why the school felt the need to move on from him. Instead, the interview felt, at times, like Franklin was being treated unjustly by the Nittany Lions.
Franklin went 104-45 at Penn State and played a part in restoring the program’s status as a powerhouse. He also never broke through in the biggest games, failed to reach a national championship game, and had lost the fanbase with his perceived underachievement. This was a season that started with title aspirations, only for the team to wind up 3-3 after losses to UCLA and Northwestern.
Franklin should have no trouble landing on his feet elsewhere. He is a very good college football coach with plenty of successes to point to, but Penn State certainly had its reasons for letting him go.
